Oral Answers to Questions

Josh Dean Excerpts

Thursday 11th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Keir Mather]

The right hon. Lady’s question reflects the strength of feeling across the House about the volunteers who man the coastguard, as well as about the need to ensure that the consequences of the judgment are fully understood and volunteers get the support they need. I would be glad to meet her. I should also note that the chief executive of the MCA will be doing a drop-in with Members of Parliament; I will ensure that the details are shared with her.

[Josh Dean (Hertford and Stortford) (Lab)]

Residents in Hertford and Stortford tell me that their bus services are too often irregular or delayed, causing unnecessary disruption and stress. I welcome the £19.5 million allocated to Hertfordshire county council through the local authority bus grant last year, but will the Minister say a bit more about how we will work with the Lib Dem administration to ensure that the money is used effectively, and about what this Labour Government are doing to improve bus services in semi-rural communities such as mine?

[Simon Lightwood]

We are doing a number of pilots to demonstrate the potential effectiveness of bus franchising in rural areas. That is on top of ensuring that, for the first time, rurality is considered in bus funding.